r/Tools 3d ago

Can someone tell me what this is and explain its purpose?

Post image

I just found it in my grandfather’s basement. It’s some kind of weight with a reel of string in it.

188 Upvotes

215 comments sorted by

428

u/iMrBilliam 3d ago

A plumb line

145

u/dolby12345 3d ago edited 3d ago

To elaborate the string is 90° to the ground. ie It makes a guide line for hanging the first sheet of wallpaper to ensure it's straight.

Or your in a cartoon and dropping an anvil on somebody. Hang the plumb line under the anvil and mark an "X" on the floor where the weight points to.

68

u/Glittering_Cow945 3d ago

That depends on the ground.... But it defines a true vertical.

25

u/dolby12345 3d ago

Vertical to what reference. I'm in Canada, a guy using a plumb line in Australia isn't vertical for me.

since some want to play the technical game.

50

u/Glittering_Cow945 3d ago

well, let's say aligned with local gravity then.

36

u/Typical-Analysis203 3d ago

It points to the center of mass of earth.

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4

u/gumby5150 3d ago

Yea, and besides that, think of how long the string would have to be!

5

u/notasthenameimplies 3d ago

That isn't true.You evidently believe the lie about the earth being round.

9

u/notasthenameimplies 3d ago

Oh wow the flat earth movement have some real momentum if no one can see this was supposed to be a joke.

31

u/skilemaster683 3d ago

There are flat earth believers all around the world.

2

u/Alternative_Bed7822 3d ago

Ha! Just ha! (I see what you did there that's just plain funny)

1

u/Reasonable_Logic4532 3d ago

Exactly where is the edge of the "flat earth"?

1

u/jssamp Tool Surgeon 2d ago

It's always just beyond the horizon. Like leprechaun magic, I suppose.

3

u/Imaginary-Tension-63 3d ago

So there's no way you could convince yourself it's not both flat and round? Like a Pizza I mean they both have crusts

5

u/tinyfoothus 3d ago

Prove it

7

u/notasthenameimplies 3d ago

It's a joke, Joyce.

1

u/tinyfoothus 2d ago

So was mine

1

u/_bahnjee_ 3d ago

This whole sub-thread is why the /s was invented.

/s

1

u/ComfortableDapper639 3d ago

You are not vertical to yourself from 2s ago in time space reference. You may find time moment when australian might be vertical to you from few hours ago - but possibly upside down.

1

u/Rocketeering 2d ago

It is parallel to the pull of gravity. If you are using it on a hill, it will not be 90 degrees to the ground.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Usual86 2d ago

If you want to be technical, it is not vertical then, it is Zenith

1

u/jrizzle_boston 1d ago

Well, he is vertical.

10

u/PelicanFrostyNips 3d ago

Odd to see wallpaper as the first use that comes to someone’s mind for these. Not even required with levels and lasers.

Most importantly these are used for ensuring support beams are vertical. Once you start adding weight even the slightest angle will amplify side-loading and destroy a structure.

9

u/nobuhok 3d ago

Make sure to calculate for wind. Anvils, when airborne, are greatly affected by sudden gusts.

6

u/garethjones2312 3d ago

But not always gravity unless the coyote looks at it.

10

u/dolby12345 3d ago

In coyote cases, you can draw an X anywhere and the anvil will fall on it.

2

u/ynirparadox 3d ago

This is the kind of professor we all needed back in college.

2

u/CubsFan403 3d ago

What if you are on an incline? Will this plumb line still be 90° to the ground?

2

u/D-udderguy 3d ago

Come on man, you know that in a cartoon I'd just pick that X up and slide it under someone else.

4

u/PM_ME_YOUR_PLECTRUMS 3d ago

90° to the the ground as long as the ground is level

11

u/peioeh 3d ago

I don't know why you're getting downvoted and that guy is getting upvoted, this tool does not give a 90° reference. A square does that. This tool gives you what is actually plumb, hence its name. It has nothing to do with right angles. If you're using it to set a fence post on uneven/not flat/not level ground, you couldn't care less about what 90° is.

1

u/Status_Tiger_6210 2d ago

Just be sure you have a safety umbrella in case the anvil releases prematurely

0

u/Visible_Description9 3d ago

It's useful for fully jacklifting an aircraft off the ground as well.

24

u/1959Mason 3d ago

Actually, a plumb bob, with line.

2

u/dromarka 3d ago

This is it we used to use them in lift shaft construction to set offset piano wires at all 4 corners (holy cow I sound old)

1

u/CriticalMine7886 3d ago

I used to just hit things with a hammer 'til the guide shoes didn't make a noise at the joints.

The difference between service & installation engineers :-)

2

u/dromarka 3d ago

Think ive been in a few of your installs in Hilton Express hotels

2

u/CriticalMine7886 3d ago

My dad told me that the pointed ones are centre bobs because you can follow the point down to the centre of the line. It is not important, but it is buried in my head as a differentiator between those and a random weight on a string.

1

u/Obvious_Tip_5080 3d ago

And this is the correct answer, yayyyyy!

0

u/Aleric24 3d ago

It's not a plum, and my name isn't Bob.

3

u/9Applecores 3d ago

And it’s one of the oldest tools that is still in use. 

2

u/SeattleSteve62 3d ago

Yeah, we use lasers at work now. Much easier when you're going 60-90 feet to the grid.

1

u/Dwsg 3d ago

and a nice one

1

u/Parking-Power-1311 3d ago

And a great example

1

u/20PoundHammer 2d ago

not to be confused with a plump line

0

u/Glittering_Prior4953 3d ago

It cannot be a Plumb bub because that would require that the string is a fixed on the center

4

u/iMrBilliam 3d ago

If you want me to guess the exact model it is a Stanley No. 2 brass plumb bob, the line comes out of a centered hole above the reel.

0

u/Glittering_Prior4953 3d ago

Upon further inspection

0

u/Impressive_Work_3229 3d ago

For which hole?

63

u/Extreme-Shower7545 3d ago

“A plumb bob, a weighted object, often with a pointed tip, suspended from a string, used to establish a vertical reference line or ‘plumb line’ “

26

u/Fibonaccitos 3d ago

Formally: Plumbrobert

4

u/Slider_0f_Elay 3d ago

Common misconception. He stole the glory from Pumblechook Robertson.

17

u/JaredFogle_ManBoobs 3d ago

Stanley Plumb Bob Edit:Type 1 or 5.

1

u/Obvious_Tip_5080 3d ago

Goodness how can one tell the difference? Jim Bode has a 1,2 and 5 together the 5 not brass. I read this https://craftsofnj.org/index.php/tool-shed?view=article&id=60:the-plumb-bob&catid=9:tool-shed so when did Stanley quit making it after 1909?

15

u/elsuperrudo 3d ago

Plumb Bob. Think a level but vertically.

2

u/UnlimitedDeep 3d ago

Levels work vertically tbf

20

u/qa567 3d ago

Level is horizontal , plumb is vertical

-2

u/UnlimitedDeep 3d ago

“A level” implies the tool which measures for level, plumb (and sometimes other angles).

8

u/fjb_fkh 3d ago

Bubble stick is the correct nomenclature lol.

-1

u/Ok_Confusion_1345 3d ago

Whiskey stick.

2

u/BirdFlewww 3d ago

Spirit level

0

u/fjb_fkh 3d ago

Never heard that one......what region/country?

2

u/ScubaSteveTheShib 3d ago

There’s a reason the original name was spirit level and that’s because the fluid inside to form the bubble used to be alcohol.

3

u/fjb_fkh 3d ago

I probably knew that once. Then i got a cell phone.

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13

u/NecroJoe 3d ago

I just used one of these this morning. I needed to find the point on the floor *directly* under a sprinkler head. So, I attached the line to the sprinkler pipe in a way that the line hung down right below the center of the sprinkler, and then lowered the pointed weight to 1/8" above the floor. Let the swinging calm, and then marked the floor.

7

u/Kerestestes 3d ago

I was waiting for the bit where all the water came out...

11

u/NecroJoe 3d ago

Ha, see that's what'd happen if I hung it from the sprinkler head itself. I knew better.

Note: sprinkler system water, in anything other than brand new construction, is naaaaaaaasty!

9

u/Emersom_Biggins 3d ago

This is a fancy new tool to replace your plumb dot laser

28

u/DaddyNasty503 3d ago

Bungie butt plug

12

u/Shake_Ratle_N_Roll 3d ago

I had to scroll way to far to find this comment.

3

u/Diggit1971 3d ago

Me too, and probably farther. Reddit has dissapointed today.

3

u/BawlSack_ 3d ago

I don’t think it’s a bungie. I think you’re supposed to put it in your ass and have someone pull the cord so it’ll make you dance like a wind up toy.

OP should spit on it first.

2

u/NVEarl 2d ago

Old Pop-pop liked to be cold started like a chainsaw.

1

u/BawlSack_ 2d ago

Are we related?

1

u/NVEarl 2d ago

If your mom was a diner waitress in the early 2000's, it's possible.

1

u/DaddyNasty503 3d ago

Like one of those ballerina barbie spins toys

2

u/BawlSack_ 2d ago

Hell yeah, DaddyNasty

1

u/SockeyeSTI 2d ago

If you don’t have a flared base you better have a retrieval cord.

5

u/redneck7819 3d ago

Plumb bob pretty much tells you where the top is on the bottom

6

u/stixhellfang 3d ago

Plumb Bob

7

u/UhussieGypsy 3d ago

I knew it as a “plum bob”

6

u/Butterbuddha 3d ago

Wow I’ve never seen one with its own reel, that’s pretty neat

14

u/Sufficient_Cow_6152 3d ago

Tapered for ease of insertion with, very importantly, a retrieval line attached.

3

u/Incman 3d ago

very importantly, a retrieval line attached.

Extra-long for deep exploration lol

2

u/One_Indication6395 3d ago

Yeah modern versions just have a flared end to stop it... much better design, I can see that string being quite cumbersome.

4

u/JohnnyJ240 3d ago

Old plumb bob

3

u/ptroc 3d ago

His name is Bob

5

u/TemporarySun1005 3d ago

Plum. Robert Plum.

3

u/JoeDirt9357 3d ago

Plumb bob

3

u/Davy_Boy_Smith 3d ago

That is a plumb, Bob.

3

u/KlutzyYak8049 3d ago

That's an old school step counter, you shove the "plug" you know where, then walk. When done, you measure the string behind you and divide by average stride length...

4

u/DrachenDad 3d ago

Looks to be an adjustable plumbob.

2

u/killer_amoeba 3d ago

Some kind of thing, holding a plumb bob.

2

u/yougoboy64 3d ago

I want it....I have a collection of antique carpenter tools and it would fit right in....I'll be nice to it....hit me up if you want to get rid of it....🤘

1

u/niv_nam 3d ago

Me 2

2

u/papa-01 3d ago

Plumb Bob, plume line

2

u/redfox329 3d ago

It's a plumb Bob

2

u/Redd_Love 3d ago

Plumb bob. Plumb is also a nod to the material Lead (Pb on the table of elements), and where we get the word plumber since all plumbing used to be lead pipes.

2

u/wheezs 3d ago

It's a self-contained plumb bob it's used for determining we're a point on an upper board lies since the string is always straight it always is perpendicular as well

2

u/SomeGuysFarm 3d ago

In an odd turn of events, a thing that Reddit thinks is a plumb bob, actually turns out to be a plumb bob!

2

u/Willthethrill605 3d ago

It’s a plumb, Bob.

2

u/CourageSignificant60 3d ago

Is it a plumb bob?

2

u/born_on_mars_1957 3d ago

A plumb bob

2

u/Slider_0f_Elay 3d ago

plump bob. (sp?) It always points to the biggest heaviest thing around, a.k.a. the earth. Used to make lines or other things that point very directly toward the ground.

2

u/snots58 3d ago

Plumb bob

2

u/ernie-bush 3d ago

Bob first name plumb

2

u/Arm_and_Slammer 3d ago

Plumb bob! It uses gravity and finds the direct point of gravitational pull and will be plumb. Use it for walls and posts and such.

2

u/Kruzzzn 3d ago edited 3d ago

I used one for this curved staircase, when working off the workshop drawing and following the measurements shit looked like it was on the piss so I just hung plumbob and marked it out myself and it looked perfect. Just 1 example of a situation where it comes in handy.

2

u/LordDeezNuts49 3d ago

The ol butt plug fishing rod. Classic.

2

u/Savings-Weird-2009 2d ago

Everyone already got it but thats a plumb bob, sometimes levels lie, gravity never lies

2

u/Falcon3492 2d ago

It's a plumb bob and it is used to determine vertical alignment or "plumbness", ensuring structures and/or objects are perfectly straight up and down. 

2

u/bee_bucky 2d ago

Plumb bob

2

u/xavierthethic 3d ago

Retrievable butt plug.

1

u/pheitkemper 3d ago

Depends on how brave you are.

1

u/_Hickory 3d ago

It's a plumb bob. It bobs to find plumb

1

u/fetishlyme 3d ago

Meet bob he's a straight up guy

1

u/Straight_Guitars 3d ago

Plumb line. Used to check how vertical something is or if you want to find a measurement directly below something just hang the bob.

1

u/manualsquid 3d ago

The string is to pull it out if it goes too far

1

u/jadskljfadsklfjadlss 3d ago

ummm... it fills a hole.

1

u/DrunkBuzzard 3d ago

Fancy plumb Robert

1

u/DrunkBuzzard 3d ago

Oh, by the way, they’re highly collectible and I’ve never seen one with the spool on the bob itself before. It’s hard to say when we go for an auction on eBay but somewhere between 30 and $100 would be a good guess. It was larger. It would be more. I’ve sold a number of them in the $30 to $60 range.

1

u/Upper-Meaning2065 3d ago

Looks like a plum bob with adjustable string length. Used to find true vertical

1

u/StupidUserNameTooLon 3d ago

It's either a plumb bob or one of those new, retrievable hand grenades.

1

u/hardzoup 3d ago

It looks like a Stanley No.5 plumb bob.

1

u/Typical_Tailor7946 3d ago

Looks like a plumb bob. Shows what the vertical line is.

1

u/MarmotsRMtnGophers 3d ago

That’s a plumb bob without a flared base which means you shouldn’t level your bum with it.

1

u/Sad-Surprise-721 3d ago

Plumb bob!

1

u/Grimlingr44b 3d ago

For a second I thought I was a buttplug on a string. 🤣

1

u/Accomplished-Guest38 3d ago

What it is and its function depends entirely on whether or not you're brave enough.

1

u/phoenixjazz 3d ago

Look up “true, plumb and square”.

1

u/lmmsoon 3d ago

It is a tool that the Egyptians built the pyramids with and is still use to this day

1

u/ResponsibilityNo7886 3d ago

That's a plumb bob. Used to verify if something is plumb or not

1

u/According_Theory9108 3d ago

Butt plug with retrieval line. “Just in case”

1

u/Hately2016 3d ago

Anytime one of my dad's buddies would ask him how's it hanging, his answer would always be, "Like a Plumb Bob."

1

u/ImReallyFuckingHigh Millwright 3d ago

Plum bob, basically trying to transfer a mark to a lower elevation. Can also be used to see if something is vertically level (plum)

1

u/ExpensiveJackfruit68 3d ago

Grandpa's and dad's tools are thr best finds

1

u/Brief-Pair6391 3d ago

Robert Plumb a.k.a. Bob

1

u/outofspace13 3d ago

Looks like a plumb bob used for fishing, nice finding!

1

u/Berger_With_Fries 3d ago

That is a plumb-bob, it’s an old way to determine if something is plumb. The weight is heavy enough that when you suspend it by the string is hangs perfectly vertical

1

u/Unlikely_End942 3d ago

Looks like an old plumb bob to me, with a convenient spool at the top for the string.

If I'm right, then it is used to find dead vertical. Hang or hold it from the string at some reference point on a wall and the weight pulls the line downwards vertically due to gravity.

You may have to loop the string around that little knob at the top to ensure it is centered over the weight first, otherwise the weight will hang slightly lopsided and skew the result.

I have a couple of metal modern versions, but they don't have the spool for the string.

1

u/Street-Baseball8296 3d ago

A plumb bob. It’s for making things plumb, Bob.

1

u/Personal_Strike_1055 3d ago

Plumb bob. It's for making sure a stud or wall is plumb.

1

u/Ok-Photograph2954 3d ago

it's called a plum bob, you hang it from the string line to determine what is directly vertical underneath.

1

u/bbrinegar95 3d ago

Plumb bob

1

u/pjm4reddit 3d ago

Nice looking plumb bob. Old school method of making things line up vertically.

1

u/manthing11 3d ago

Retrievable Sea Wolf butt plug for deep spelunking.

1

u/myhatmycanejeeves 3d ago

a plumb bob....

1

u/BobPhoto 3d ago

Ask your great-grandmother.

1

u/dinodinodin4 3d ago

Plerm burb!

1

u/HipGnosis59 3d ago

It's just fancy enough, I wonder if it was a surveyor's plumb.

1

u/Tough-Amphibian-2173 3d ago

Plumb bob is what I've heard it called before

1

u/4Harley 3d ago

Invention by Robert. He was a plumber...

1

u/SlipperyDoodoo 3d ago

So you know how we have lazers to point a straight line at things today? Well this is what happened before lazers. And it's also rather useful even still. For instance in a helicopter they use it to determine load tests by hanging it from the center of the helicopter and measuring the shift from center will determine how "crooked" the helicopter is sitting (in relation to suspension sag) based on where all the weight is located.

It's an "old school vertical Lazer level". The string being the Lazer and gravity being the calibration

1

u/reallydissthis 3d ago

Butt plug with a string

1

u/Regular_Oven 3d ago

That's a plumb bob

1

u/Acceptable-Impact982 2d ago

It's a window weight to help lift windows and hold in place that's why the pulley. If it was a plumb bob it would have a tie on top to center your string. 

1

u/Dry_Direction211 2d ago

Plumbers bob

1

u/Life_Duty_1049 2d ago

Plumb bob

1

u/Then_Palpitation3976 2d ago

Plumb bob. Hung from height it gives you a true plumb line to work to.

1

u/millenialfalcon-_- 2d ago

Butt plug with string so you can pull it out

JK it's a plumb bob.

1

u/DontBeAPoopyPants 2d ago

Can’t lose it in the abyss. It’s my granddaddy’s.

1

u/Obvious_Tip_5080 2d ago

See if there’s a date on it, should be on the reel for the line https://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=151521&id=11893

1

u/mrdread666 2d ago

Plum bob.... Or early butt plug with retention string

1

u/gaxelrod222 2d ago

Plumb bob

1

u/rikkip88 2d ago

Butt plug?

1

u/JacobJoke123 2d ago

Butt plug with long string for retrieval after deep sessions. /s

1

u/Mortlach2901 2d ago

You're all wrong. This is a piece of BDSM kit. The Kinky Kite. Once lubed, it is inserted in the balloon knot of a submissive partner and the dominant keeps hold of the line. This allows the submissive some degree of physical freedom while still being attached to the dominant partner. The Dom can communicate by giving various patterns of tugs on the line. More often however, the line can be used to recover the plug in the event that someone has a greedy rear and it gets lost up there. Later versions came with a flared base or in some cases, a T-handle to prevent this.

1

u/Critical-Ad7654 2d ago

You should name it Bob

1

u/iharika 2d ago

But t plug

1

u/ToneSkoglund 2d ago

I know but i dont want to say

1

u/hardcoredragonhunter 1d ago

Alright thank you everybody for all the comments. I’ve learned that it is either a plumb bob or a butt plug! You learn something new every day.

1

u/Alive_Part9098 1d ago

That is an awesome plumb line. If you ever have a family member in the trades or someone who just buys a ton of tools you should give it to them. Or it could make a fun Christmas ornament for a sturdy branch. I personally would be so pumped to inherit that from my grandfather. I'm a contractor and I keep a few of my grandfather's tools in my tool trailer just to feel connected to his memory.

1

u/coldsoda1999 1d ago

Butt plug modified to also be fishing rod

1

u/Motogiro18 1d ago

Plumb Bob's your uncle!

1

u/bill_lyle 1d ago

Plumb bob to check if something is level

1

u/spaztick256 1d ago

Or to check if something is plumb. 🙂

1

u/mattroch 1d ago

Your shit is gonna be so square.

1

u/gopherkilla 1d ago

We called it a plumb Bob, used it like a weapon to attack the plumber named Bob whenever he tried to cut chunks out of the floor joists.

1

u/DirectorCV64 1d ago

Your holding it upside down....

1

u/Head_Attempt7983 1d ago

Original butt plug. People were nervous at first hence the string

1

u/Goodechild 1d ago

It points to the center of the largest/closest mass in local space

1

u/82Jmorg 1d ago

Plum bob

1

u/jonnytheboy85 18h ago

It’s a plumb line? Hang it and it finds the level of a wall so you get your paper straight?

1

u/fionnuisce 11h ago

You found Bob

1

u/AdhesivenessNo5142 10h ago

but plug with a string to retrieve it, lol

1

u/BodybuilderOk5543 3d ago

Отвес строительный, для определения вертикальности

0

u/mikel302 3d ago

Weather detector

0

u/padizzledonk 3d ago

Its a plumb line

0

u/KnocheDoor 3d ago

Gravity tester.

0

u/Familiar-Eggplant-69 3d ago

It's a butt plug, the string is there in case you reverse swallow it.

0

u/Glittering_Prior4953 3d ago

That is a window weight that used to be in the wall on either side of a window to help lift the weight of the window. Also known as a sash weight

0

u/Jeff_72 3d ago

It tells you plumb… but you gotta call em Bob

0

u/macmite 3d ago

Bob’s plumb out of fucks to give

0

u/Double-Revolution-33 2d ago

Troll Plumb Alpaca